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Bai'el
Bai’el was an ancient empire that existed roughly three thousand years ago. It stretched up the western coast, spanning from the Black Root Mountains to the Forest of Cratsfar, and from the coast to Lake Ashenford. Bai’el was characterized by feats of magic that have not been seen or duplicated on the planet since. It was that drive and motivation for power that led to the nation’s downfall, ultimately. The actual nation had humble beginnings. The people who formed the nation came from the region in the Hedgelands and the Forest of Cratsfar, and share many of the same traits that Hedgelanders today possesses. At the time, various other nations, such as the Empire of the Sands, the Shou Empire, and Sephir were engaging in a great deal of war. In –1,797, Bai’el would begin as a small, fortified city-state just off the coast of what is today the Gulf of Bai’el, in response to the going-ons of the era. Bai’el, the small city-state flourished, as unaffiliated farmers and workers were suddenly unified and working together. Bai’el came to have a prosperous fishing market, selling their catches amongst themselves, and to other, nearby settlements. It would not be until an enigmatic man known as Tund came to Bai’el that the city-state would begin to grow. History is not very clear just who Tund was, but it is known that he appeared in Bai’el in the year –1,690. Some stories say that Tund was a native of Bai’el, who left the city-state at a young age, to travel across the world and learn from the great cultures and nations across the continent, who returned to put that knowledge to good use, helping his fellow countrymen. Other stories say that Tund was a native from the Shou Empire, or al-Beduine, who came to Bai’el to seize power for himself. Other stories say that Tund was some kind of extraplanar creature, using the people of Bai’el in an extradimensional game of chess. Regardless of his true origins, Tund’s influence soon grew in Bai’el. By –1,650, Tund’s political influence in the city-state grew to the point that the elders of the settlement began deferring to his wisdom and insight on matters regarding governance of Bai’el. Tund led the settlement into what historians now label ‘The Silver Age’ of Bai’el. The main reason Bai’el flourished during this was because of Tund’s personal belief in eugenics, or the concept that, in order to improve themselves and their standing in the world, the people of Bai’el should discourage reproduction by persons having genetic defects, or other undesirable traits, and that the reproduction between those who had desirable traits should be encouraged. At first, Tund limited this policy of “forced reproduction”- in Bai’el, such unions were merely arranged marriages- to inter-Human relationships, but as time went on, he actually began breeding Humans with extraplanar creatures, purposefully. As word spread around the continent that Tund was breeding Humans with extraplanar creatures, creating Aasimar, Tieflings, Genasi, and other Human hybrids, other individuals and groups found out about him and his experiments. Many, most notably the Olin Gisiae, a secret brotherhood of Elves determined to keep ancient secrets and evils secret, decided that Tund needed to be stopped. Even a small minority in Bai’el felt that Tund had finally gone insane, driven to madness because of his extreme old age, bolstered by life-prolonging magics. Finally, in –1,504, Tund was assassinated, killed by a duo of Elves. It is likely that Bai’el might have dissolved after the death of Tund, had a great and charismatic leader not emerged to lead the city. Omerond the Great, a Fire Genasi born in Tund’s forced breeding programs, fought off numerous competitors and became the next leader of Bai’el. With his fiery personality and charisma, Omerond seized complete control of Bai’el in a completely peaceful manner, gaining the trust and support of the people of the city-state. Among his agenda was to discover who had killed Tund, and extract revenge. Six years after taking power, the two Olin Gisiae agents who assassinated Tund were discovered and assassinated themselves. When he came to power, Omerond inherited a Bai’el that was on the rise. Because of the magical breeding programs set-up by Tund, Sorcerers- spellcasters who wielded magic through inborn talent and genetics, rather than education- became appearing en masse in Bai’el. In fact, Omerond himself was such a Sorcerer. Rather rapidly, magic became integrated into mainstream society. Fifteen years after taking power, Omerond the Great declared that Bai’el would no longer be a city-state, but rather, a sovereign nation. The city that had been Bai’el would be renamed ‘Tund’, in honor of the man who laid the brickwork for the nation’s rise to power, and the nation would collectively be known as Bai’el. This period of time would be known as the ‘Golden Age of Bai’el’. Over the next 28 years, Bai’el would grow in territory, wealth, and power. The most important event during this period of time would be the creation of the Demiplane of Catastropher, in –1,468. Though it would be used for its intended use initially- storage- it would soon become a place to exile unwanted persons, powerful magical creatures, and political enemies. In -1,461, Omerond the Great died of natural causes. His designated inheritor, Omerond the Lesser, was only a small child at the time, and could not rule the nation. So, a council meant to act as stewards of the nation until the time Omerond the Lesser could take control of the nation was formed. Called the Sildëreál, the group was only supposed to act as a temporary ruling council of Bai’el, until Omerond the Lesser could inherit the throne. Almost instantly, however, once members of the Sildëreál tasted power, they sought to retain it through any means possible. In –1,457, Omerond the Lesser died, a victim of drowning during a fishing trip. This was the official story, that the Sildëreál was telling the general public, anyway. In reality, the council of stewards had the young Omerond kidnapped and sent to Catastropher, to live out the rest of his days as an exiled political prisoner. The public believed the Sildëreál, and the council became the legitimate governing body in Bai’el shortly thereafter. Unbeknownst to anybody, Omerond the Lesser somehow escaped his captivity in Catastropher, and would begin wandering the planes, to return to Okarth eventually. Completely unrelated was the fact that magicians from Bai’el had begun experimenting with Incarnum, a source of energy that many believed would change their entire nation. This experimentation would herald in the beginning of the ‘Age of Incarnum’ of Bai’el. Soon afterwards, Incarnum would have a massive impact on Bai’el, and would eventually spell doom for the nation. In -1,421, in the midst of the Age of Incarnum, Omerond the Lesser would return to Bai’el, under the guise ‘The Dweomerkeeper’. He would quickly insinuate himself into the politics of the Sildëreál, eventually obtaining a seat on the council and becoming the speaker of the council, the most politically powerful position. Though no one in Bai’el would know it, Omerond the Lesser would become the de facto ruler of the nation, as his father had planned, despite the coup by the steward council. The beginning of the end of Bai’el would come in –1,413 when the Sildëreál authorized a cult of Ur-Priests to begin planning to sacrifice an actual deity to provide unlimited power to their Incarnum devices. Up until this point, the Incarnum that fueled the many mystical wonders of the nation was supplied either by their creators, or by slaves, who were killed and drained of their Incarnum. The Dweomerkeeper, using the basic principles that Airships worked on, sought to elevate the entire city of Tund into the sky, as a symbol of the magical might of Bai’el. For the next two years, the nation prepared for the ritual that would elevate Tund into the clouds. In 1,411, the Ur-Priests began their ritual. They targeted Harun, a minor deity of hunting, skill and challenge. Defying all odds, the Ur-Priests were successful, and Harun was slain. His Incarnum energy was captured, and channeled into the various Incarnum machines in Tund, including the device that would elevate the city into the sky. Shortly thereafter, a cerulean haze engulfed the capital city of Bai’el, and it began rising into the air. What the people of Bai’el did not take into account, however, was the fact that other deities, while not necessarily allied with Harun, took offense that mortals would dare challenge deities, and were even more incensed that they could actually succeed. Within the day, as the Dweomerkeeper was giving a speech to the people of Bai’el, about how their society had entered a new age, they struck. Quite simply, various deities pooled together, and stripped Bai’el of it’s magic. In other words, they placed a large Dead Magic Zone around the nation, including the floating city of Tund. Without magic, important magical devices and fields began to deactivate, leading to wholesale havoc throughout Bai’el. Tund, floating miles above the ground, came crashing down in a matter of moments. Bai’el survived the cataclysm, a fact that many do not realize. Indeed, even though Tund was utterly destroyed, and the government of the magical nation devastated, there were many survivors. There would be a very small window of opportunity for people to escape, however. One small group- the largest to flee the disaster- would escape via airships to the islands to the west, where they would go on to found the nation of Cymru, on the island of Illyua. Most would not be so lucky, or fortunate, however. A massive wave, again sent by the deities to punish the arrogant mortals who dared challenge them, engulfed the land that was once Bai’el. Unlike waves, however, the water did not move on. Instead, the land that Bai’el once existed on became part of the sea, creating the Gulf of Bai’el, better known as the Gulf of Ghosts. Those who died became dreadful wraiths, who are said to haunt the ruins of the mighty nation sitting beneath the waves. The Dead Magic Zone that began the catastrophe continues to exist at the bottom of the gulf, and as a result, has dissuaded people from attempting to plunder the ruins beneath the water.